Johannesburg - The police had their hands full on Thursday morning trying to convince a man armed with a panga to get down from a section of the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court roof.
The man sat comfortably on a lower section of the old building and barked orders at the officers who were trying to secure his safety.
The officers entertained several of his requests, including those for cigarettes.
They threw them up to him and he puffed away as they tried to negotiate with him.
But he refused to come down and only clutched his bladed weapon tighter.
The early-morning commotion caught the attention of those around the court as well as those inside it.
As some debated what had made him climb up the building in the first place, others snapped pictures of him.
As theories of the man began circulating, a passerby tried to get closer to the scene but was instructed by the police to step away.
A man who works at a building opposite the court told The Star the man usually sought shelter above the court building during winter.
“He climbs up and sleeps inside a small hole,” he said.
This was confirmed by a security guard, who did not want to be named.
He said the man was not trying to commit suicide. “If he wanted to jump, he would have climbed higher up,” he said.
By 9am, the police were still negotiating with the man to no avail.
He was heard saying, however, that he wanted to call his brother to come and fetch him.
The Star